Ah, the lessons we re-learn

[Juanmarteen]

Good thing the Savage is pretty tough. Let my brother run it yesterday - he didn't pull the Tx antenna up after we got it warmed up. So he's used to 2.4GHz radios... Once it got about 20 yds. away (and 2nd gear kicked in) it took off down the street with no control (crossing a relatively busy street in the process) where it banged the curb and dropped one steering linkage. This set it into doing donuts in the middle of said busy street. Got lucky - no people, animals, or cars injured. Would have been a pretty funny video...

After we shut it down, the linkage snapped back on, so no worries there. The motor didn't want to stay running under throttle after that, so back to the workbench. Wondering if the hit cracked my seal job on the motor...

Do they make a nitro "kill switch" or "auto-brake" or something of that nature?

 

[WoodiE]

You're still running AM/FM radio system? 2.4Ghz radios are so cheap now days, the first upgrade would certainly be a new radio system.

As for a nitro kill switch, @Killer RC sells them on his site at www.KillerRC.com.

 

[Rolex]

The killer rc switch allows you to stop the fuel flow from the radio almost instantly if there's a problem. In the case of a lost signal you'll need a "FailSafe" to return the engine to idle and apply the brakes. http://www.towerhobbies.com/products/duratrax/dtxm4000.html

Never, NEVER run a nitro vehicle without one.

 

[Juanmarteen]

Yep - still running the radio it came with - it was free. I can see changing that out as soon as budget permits. It IS payday, maybe I can talk the wife out of some money...

I'll definitely have to look into the kill/cut system. Nitro-newb is on the learn...

 

[WoodiE]

In the case of a lost signal you'll need a "FailSafe"...

Which is exactly what the killer rc switch will do and more...

• stop the fuel flow to your nitro engine during: radio glitch/signal loss.
• Low battery.
• cut wires.
• total battery power loss.
• also kill the engine any time you want by pressing the Aux button on your transmitter, or turning off the transmitter power button.

A return spring won't help you if the servo is stuck wide open. That said return springs are not totally useless in fact couple that with a built-in failsafe found on most any 2.4Ghz radio system and you'll have most of the issues covered. Though the builtin failsafe on the radio systems won't kick in if the battery gets to low. If I'm not mistaken your Savage "should" have came with a return spring already.

In addition, if you're looking for a nice radio upgrade over the old stock radio take a look at the Spektrum DX4C.

 

[Diesel3077]

All of those things are very important and should be run with a nitro,with that said,they dont make a little brother fail safe system!lol

 

[ninnon]

Which is exactly what the killer rc switch will do and more...

• stop the fuel flow to your nitro engine during: radio glitch/signal loss.
• Low battery.
• cut wires.
• total battery power loss.
• also kill the engine any time you want by pressing the Aux button on your transmitter, or turning off the transmitter power button.

A return spring won't help you if the servo is stuck wide open. That said return springs are not totally useless in fact couple that with a built-in failsafe found on most any 2.4Ghz radio system and you'll have most of the issues covered. Though the builtin failsafe on the radio systems won't kick in if the battery gets to low. If I'm not mistaken your Savage "should" have came with a return spring already.

In addition, if you're looking for a nice radio upgrade over the old stock radio take a look at the Spektrum DX4C.

Sounds good, shame they're impossible to find in the U.K

 

[WoodiE]

Sounds good, shame they're impossible to find in the U.K

They are easy to find... www.killerrc.com - they ship worldwide.

 

[ninnon]

They are easy to find... www.killerrc.com - they ship worldwide.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind when I have some RC budget to spare- shipping will probably be quite a bit though.

 

[Juanmarteen]

Just ordered a Bumblebee today. Keeping my eyes open for a good deal on maybe a used 2.4GHz Tx/Rx (and saving for new). BIG thanks for the advice!

 

[Juanmarteen]

Got the Bumblebee today. I'll do a write-up on it when I get it in use. Now to decide which rig. Couldn't get the Savage started, but the Tmaxx ran great (first time under rc since I cleaned it up). It's possible I was careless with the rinse water on the Savage, and the glow was loose.

 

[ninnon]

Got the Bumblebee today. I'll do a write-up on it when I get it in use. Now to decide which rig. Couldn't get the Savage started, but the Tmaxx ran great (first time under rc since I cleaned it up). It's possible I was careless with the rinse water on the Savage, and the glow was loose.
View attachment 16762

It came with complimentary food?! I'm buying six- I don't even care about shipping...

 

[WoodiE]

I'll do a write-up on it when I get it in use.

Looking forward to seeing your review!